Posts tagged MVP
Askia (Big Shot) Booker named Pac-12 P.of the W.
Dec 10th
BOULDER – University of Colorado junior guard Askia Booker was named Pac-12 Conference Player of the Week, the conference office announced Monday.
Booker’s second career conference player of the week nomination comes on the heels of the Buffaloes making the Associated Press Top-25 poll for the first time this season as the No. 21 ranked team. The men also received 42 votes in the Coaches’ Poll and are slotted at the No. 27 team overall.
Booker helped CU upset then-No. 6/6 Kansas, 75-72 last Saturday, launching the game-winner with a 30-footer as time expired to keep the Buffaloes unbeaten at home (7-0). The victory also matched their longest winning streak since the 2005-06 season with nine wins in a row.
The junior guard from Los Angeles, tied for team-high honors against KU with 15 points, three rebounds and a steal. In addition to his game-winner, Booker also made pair of three-pointers to keep pace with the sixth ranked team in the country. With 3:39 remaining in the game, Booker gave the home team a six-point lead, then when the first half ended, hit his first trey of the game pushing CU to a 33-30 lead at the break. It’s the third time that Booker has made three treys in a game this season.
Earlier in the week, the Buffs won at Colorado State for the first time since 2007 with a 67-62 victory. Booker iced the game with 3 seconds remaining with a pair of free throws (12 points overall). It is Colorado’s fourth player of the week honor all-time since joining the Pac-12.
As team, it’s the first time the Buffaloes are ranked nationally since last season when they were the No. 19 ranked team in both polls on Nov. 26. They made their initial Top-25 breakthrough as the No. 23 ranked team on Nov. 19 when they started the season 6-0 en route to the Charleston Classic championship last November.
It’s also marks the first time since the end of the 1996-97 season that both CU men’s and women’s basketball programs are ranked at the same time. The men were ranked in the final AP Top-25 at No. 24, while the women ended that season No. 15 in the Coaches’ and No. 18 in the AP.
This season, the CU women are No. 11 in the latest AP poll for the second consecutive week.
“It’s nice for our University, the program and players that we are recognized as one of the elite teams in the country,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said. “But we aren’t going to get carried away with it. Just like we won’t be disappointed if we’re not in it. College basketball is different than college football in that polls don’t matter at the end of the day. I put more stock in RPI because the RPI doesn’t care who you are, it’s based on who you’ve played, strength of schedule, to me that’s more of a true indication, it’s less arbitrary.”
Ironically, it’s the second time in as many seasons the Buffaloes have entered the Top-25 when Booker was named the Pac-12 Conference Player of the Week. Last season, Booker was named the MVP of the Charleston Classic after averaging 19.3 points, 3.0 assists, 2.7 steals and 2.3 rebounds per game, helping the Buffs knock off Dayton, No. 16 Baylor and Murray State in four days.
Prior to last season, the CU men were last ranked in the Coaches’ Poll during the 2005-2006 campaign as the No. 25 team in back-to-back weeks (Jan. 30-Feb. 5; Feb. 6-12).
It’s only the second time the Buffs have been ranked before the start of conference play in 44 years, since a showing on the Dec. 30, 1969 poll, coming in at No. 20. Overall, it is the 34th time the Buffs have appeared in the AP rankings. CU’s highest ranking came on Dec. 18, 1963, coming in at No. 6.
Colorado (9-1) looks for its 10th straight win this Friday, Dec. 13 against Elon at the Coors Events Center beginning at 6:30 p.m. (MST). The Phoenix won 21 games last season and finished first in the Southern Conference Northern Division. This season, Elon (5-4) returns all five starters from a year ago and have won three-straight games.
Elon tickets start at $10. There’s also a Three-Game Holiday Plan available for Georgia (Dec. 28), Oregon State (Jan. 2) and Oregon (Jan. 5) starting at $30 for youth and seniors, $45 for adults.
CU All-Time in AP Polls
• CU has been ranked in 34 polls all-time.
• A top 10 ranking nine times.
• Highest ranking was No. 6, Dec. 18, 1963, the third poll of that season.
• Consecutive weeks ranked: 10 – last 7 polls of 1969, first three of 1970; in one season – 8; last 8 polls of the 1997 season.
• Most times ranked in one season – 8 in 1997; 7 in 1969; 6 in 1963.
• The AP poll was 20 teams from 1949-60, 10 teams from 1961-68 and back to 20 from 1969-1989, then 25 since 1990.
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CU WBB: Sborov and Kresl finish off Rice to win OMNI tourney
Dec 1st
By: Troy Andre, Assistant SID
BOULDER – No. 14/19 ranked Colorado used a late 14-0 rally to pull away from Rice and claim the 2013 Omni Hotels Classic championship, 75-58, Saturday night at the Coors Events Center.
Junior guard Lexy Kresl scored 19 points and recorded five rebounds, four assists and three steals to earn Classic MVP honors. Classmate Jen Reese was also named to the All-Tournament team after scoring 13 points and grabbing seven rebounds.
Rice guard Megan Shafer hit a 3-pointer with 12:06 remaining in the game to pull Rice within four at 49-45.
But Colorado, 6-0, reeled off the next 14 points. Kresl made a nice pass to Reese in traffic on a fast break to put Colorado back up by double-digits at 56-45. Lauren Huggins then put back a Reese miss the next time down the floor to add to the rally.
The Wilson twins capped off the run. Brittany Wilson hit her second 3-pointer of the game and her sister Ashley Wilson caught the Owls defense sleeping for an open drive to the basket and layup to give the Buffaloes a 63-45 advantage.
“I like the way that our team bared down and got a certain level of toughness at about the eleven-minute mark in the second half,” CU head coach Linda Lappe said. “That was really where the game changed. We started defending, we started rebounding and that allowed us to run and transition to score.”
Rice guard Jessica Kuster, scored eight of her game-high 30 points to close the Colorado lead to 64-56 with 3:56 left. But the Buffaloes held off the Owls by staying aggressive. Arielle Roberson scored on a layup and Kresl scored four straight points to put the game away.
“That was a really fun game for our team and for our staff,” Lappe said. “We did not play our best, and we still found a way to win.”
Kuster, who struggled from the field against Samford in Friday’s opener, hitting only 1-of-9, couldn’t miss early on Saturday. She scored Rice’s first seven points and a traditional 3-point play tied the game at 7-7.
Colorado responded with 10 straight including 3-pointers from Brittany Wilson and Huggins and took a 17-7 lead on a Kresl layup.
Turnovers hurt the Buffaloes early and Rice cashed in. Colorado gave it up 10 times in the first 20 minutes which accounted for 11 Rice points.
But the Buffaloes shot 45 percent in the first half, allowing them to stay just ahead of the Owls. Reese hit a layup with 4:57 remaining to give Colorado a 27-17 advantage.
Rice then closed the half on a flurry behind Kuster. The All-Conference USA guard led the Owls on a 12-6 run, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer off a mad scramble in the final minutes. Kresl missed a layup with eight seconds left which sent players sprawling for the rebound. Jasmine Goodwine eventually controlled it, shot it over to Christal Porter who got the ball to Kuster in time for her 3-pointer from the top of the key sent CU to the locker room with just a 33-29 lead.
“They were tough, and (Kuster) is a great player,” Lappe said. “We tried everybody on her in terms of guarding her, and she found a way to make things happen for them.”
Kuster scored her team’s first three points of the second half and cut CU’s lead to its smallest margin at 35-32 at the 19:02 mark. The Buffaloes countered with a 10-4 run capped off by four straight points by Kresl for a 47-36 lead.
Then all of a sudden Rice couldn’t miss from downtown. After making just 1-of-3 from deep in the first half, the Owls hit 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions for a 9-2 run that ended with Shafer’s 3-pointer and the four-point margin before Colorado’s big second half run.
Kuster, who set a tournament record for free-throws made and attempted over the two-games (23-of-29) joined South Alabama’s Jennifer Johnson and Samford’s Keke Fletcher on the all-tournament team. Samford defeated South Alabama 70-49 in Saturday’s consolation game.
Colorado returns to action by traveling to play Wyoming on Wednesday, Dec. 4, at 7 p.m. at the Arena Auditorium in Laramie.
2013 Omni Hotels Classic – Boulder, Colo.
Baylor a cake-walk for CU volleyball: three and out
Sep 15th
WACO, Texas —The University of Colorado volleyball team (8-1) dominated the Baylor Bears (4-7), sweeping them 25-21, 25-23, 25-11 to win the Baylor Invitational on Saturday night at the Ferrell Center.
Nicole Edelman was named the tournament’s MVP, while Kerra Schroeder was named the defensive MVP. Alexis Austin and Cierra Simpson were also honored as members of the all-tournament team. The Buffs went 3-0 at the BU Invite with wins against Northwestern State and Appalachian State on Friday.
Saturday’s win is the eighth consecutive for the Buffs and ties the fifth longest streak in CU volleyball history. It is the longest streak since 1997 when the Buffs had a 10-match win streak, which tied the longest streak.
The win was also head coach Liz Kritza’s first win against Baylor. The victory snapped an eight-match losing streak for CU against the Bears which started in 2007 while CU was still a member of the Big-12 Conference.
“Tonight’s performance caps off a very tough weekend for this team, and I am pleased not only with the three wins and the improvement we made as a program, but most importantly the character and resiliency this group showed,” Kritza said. “With all the possible distractions while our home state is experiencing a catastrophic event, this group of players, coaches, and staff pulled together and put forth a strong performance and really showed great character.”
Austin proved to be a key player in the match as she provided key points at the end of the first and second sets. In total, Austin hammered a team high 12 kills and hit .400 with only two errors on 25 attacks. She also added three digs and three blocks.
“Alexis did a fantastic job tonight in finishing at the end of sets tonight,” Kritza said. “The offense was firing properly and she was able to make a significant impact on the overall outcome of the match.”
Taylor Simpson also had a nice night for the Buffs with 11 kills. She picked up her third double-double of the season with 13 digs. Schroeder hit a match-best .750 with seven kills on eight errorless attacks and added six digs and two block assists.
“Schroeder was a steady presence and came up with key plays when we needed her to,” said Kritza. “Her experience on the court is crucial as this young group keeps progressing towards Pac-12 play.”
Edelman led the team with 14 digs and handed out 32 assists. She also directed the team to a .236 hitting efficiency with 42 kills. The Buffs held BU to just 25 kills, while hitting .035. The Bears had 21 attack errors on 113 attacks.
“Edelman did a very good job this weekend of keeping our offense balanced and tonight’s performance showed her experience and ability to run an offense at a high level,” Kritza said.
Kritza was also very impressed with Elysse Richardson’s performance. She picked up five digs and added two assists and an ace in the sweep.
“A key performance that doesn’t always appear on the stat sheet is the performance of Elysse Richardson,” Kritza said. “She has the ability to go into a match and change the energy of the team and she did that again for us at the pivotal point. That role is essential to a team’s success and it takes a very special person to be able to go in under the most pressured situations and perform, and she answered that call.”
The first set of the match was very close with eight ties and three lead changes. CU led 20-18 when the Bears tied it up one last time at 20-20. After a CU timeout, the Buffs came out with three straight points to go ahead 23-20. BU answered back with a kill to get within two points, but Austin finished the set for the Buffs with two straight kills (25-21).
BU had a 15-10 lead in the second set when CU used its first timeout. Out of the break, the Buffs recorded three straight points before BU sided-out with a kill (16-14). After the kill, CU put together a 5-0 run to take an 18-16 advantage. The two teams continued to battle and the match was tied yet again at 20-20. The Bears took three straight points to force CU to use a timeout, which worked well since the Buffs finished the set with five straight points out of the break, including two kills and a block from Austin (25-20).
The Buffs dominated the third set and used a 9-0 run to go up 12-5. BU was able to take three of the next four points to bring the score to 13-8, but once again the Buffs put together a run, this time it was six straight points to go up 19-8. The Bears were out of timeouts and had no way of slowing the Buffs down as CU finished easily 25-11.
The Buffs will be off until September 24 when they will travel to Salt Lake City to open the Pac-12 Conference schedule against Utah. That match is scheduled 7 p.m. and will be televised live on the Pac-12 Network.
COLORADO BUFFALOES
Linda Sprouse
Assistant Sports Information Director
Volleyball/Cross Country/Track & Field
University of Colorado
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